Looking for the silver lining.

You've probably heard about the oil spill in Louisiana already. Apparently, it spans from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico, and stalled ships and essentially stopped all traffic on the Mississippi River all the way up to today (Monday).

Of course, in the midst of gas prices hovering in the $4 range and barrels rollercoastering in price all month, this news was of the kind that leads to mild panic... as well as that pit-of-your-stomach crash of "not again" - at least for those of us who still strongly and clearly recall the Exxon Valdez spill in '89.

However, if reports are to be believed, the good news is the impact upon wildlife will be minimal (though I think that assessment depends on who you read), and the refineries in the area expect operations and output to continue at anticipated levels (i.e., no shortage/crisis).

Of course, the long-term effects of such an environmental oops are sometimes hard to calculate, and if you take a holistic perspective or systems approach, then even the smallest "accident" of this kind can have an impact upon the world in myriad ways.

Hmmmm... so where is that silver lining?